Category / Research news

Is it worth applying for all this new Horizon 2020 funding, then?

EU, Funding opportunities, international, Research news

Recipients of updates from this blog will have, no doubt, seen updates concerning the many new funding calls arising as a result of the release of the Horizon 2020 Work Programmes for 2018-2020. With current uncertainties, is it worth UK-based researchers applying, especially following the announcement on the Participant Portal that the eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant (i.e. the researcher’s country of application being either a member or associate country to receive the funding)?

The UK Research Office (UKRO) however, has reminded the sector via their website’s public area that – UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU and we will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Government will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

In the FAQ document, it is stated that even if UK partners cannot continue to receive funding from the European Commission because the UK has become a third country, the UK Government has guaranteed funding for successful bids submitted by UK participants before departure, including those that are successful afterwards. Third country participation is routine in Horizon 2020. 

It should also be noted that Horizon 2020 has always been open to Third Counties; it is the access to funding that may not be available unless it is a stipulation of the call, where the country is associated with the EU (Norway, for example) or where there is a specific provision in place.

With many calls having a closing date before the expected date of the UK exit, information about calls, info days, brokerage events etc., will continue to be posted on this blog, in anticipation of BU staff applying for funding to support their excellent research.

BU staff can register to receive their own updates from UKRO.

BU staff considering applying for any of these Horizon 2020 calls and other international funding, should contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO’s Research Facilitator: International Funding, for further information and support.

 

“Using photo-elicitation to generate storytelling”

BU research, PG research, Research news, Uncategorized

Join us next Wed for “Using photo-elicitation to generate storytelling” presented by Anne Quinney.

 

Anne’s co-presenter, Maggie Hutchings, is now able to join her for the conversation!

Lots of opportunity for audience participation in listening, making, and sharing. Not lectures, the seminar is ‘In Conversation” about a topic or method. No PPT and plenty of time for audience interaction and feedback!

Wednesday, 1 Nov.

Royal London House 208 1 pm

Students and Faculty welcome!

Presented by the Centre for Qualitative Research

ERC News

EU, Funding opportunities, Research news

We have received an update from the European Research Council, which highlights….

  • The current ERC Starting Grants call has now closed with results due in the summer of 2018.  The ERC Work Programme has earmarked €581 million for an estimated 391 Starting Grants in 2018.
  • Ideas, the ERC newsletter, autumn issue is now available, with a focus on serendipity in research.
  • An agreement has been concluded between the EU and India to encourage research visits of Indian top researchers in teams funded by the European Research Council (ERC) in Europe. In line with the ERC global approach, this is the tenth international initiative of this kind, which comes at a time when the ERC also marks its tenth anniversary.  The first initiative of this kind was signed in 2012 with the USA (National Science Foundation, NSF) and agreements then followed with prestigious funding bodies in South Korea, Argentina, Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil and Canada.

Open Calls

BU staff considering applying for any of these calls and other international funding, should contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO’s Research Facilitator: International Funding, for further information and support.

Congratulations to James Palfreman-Kay

BU Challenges, Featured academics, humanities, innovation, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized

Congratulations to BU’s Equality and Diversity Adviser James Palfreman-Kay whose application to HEFCE’s ‘Catalyst Fund: Tackling hate crime and online harassment on campus‘ has been successful.  He is one of 40 academic recipients of funding at universities and colleges throughout England.  Applications have been  assessed by a panel of HEFCE staff and external experts from across relevant areas of knowledge particular to student safeguarding.

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

 

Hidden Microbes in Christchurch House “Pond”

BU research, Featured academics, Research news, Student Engagement, student research

Microscopic investigations of water samples from the half-barrel pond in Christchurch House courtyard have revealed a menagerie of single-celled life. These tiny organisms (smaller than one tenth of a millimetre) are incredibly important as they form the basis of food webs.  They also play a major role in maintaining water quality as they feed on bacteria, and stalked species such as Vorticella (image) are responsible for their removal in waste-water treatment plants.  The half-barrel “pond” may be almost as small as its inhabitants but it promises to become a treasure of local ‘hidden’ biodiversity!

For further information please contact Genoveva F. Esteban gesteban@bournemouth@ac.uk, Jack Dazley i7447079@bournemouth.ac.uk, or Damian Evans devans@bournemouth.ac.uk

Nature, nurture & beyond: what underpins exceptional sport performance?

BU research, Research communication, Research news

What makes an exceptional athlete? Are people born with innate abilities which help them to succeed or is sporting talent nurtured through practice and training? As part of his ‘Great British Medallists’ research project conducted for UK Sport, Professor Tim Rees explored the importance of both nature and nurture in the development of elite athletes. The findings, which will be shared as part of his inaugural lecture, identified some of the differences between elite athletes (non-medal winning Olympians) and super elite athletes – those winning Olympic gold medals.

Expectations of top level athletes are ever increasing, so research that can help identify strategies to improve performance can make a significant difference to results. As part of his lecture, Professor Rees will dispel some of the commonly held misperceptions around sporting performance and will discuss what the future holds in terms of supporting top athletes.

Professor Tim Rees is a leading authority on human performance and talent development, his work published in the most prestigious and high-impact academic publications and featured in all major media including extensive interviews for BBC Radio 4 and US National Public Radio. His ‘Great British Medalists’ project was the most downloaded Sports Medicine article of 2016, earning a nomination for the Times Higher Education Project of the Year. His specialism has led to speaking engagements, collaborations, and consulting appointments worldwide.

Bournemouth University’s inaugural lecture series aims to celebrate new professorial appointments and the depth and breadth of research produced by the university. For further information on the inaugural lecture series, please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/public-lecture-series

About the event

To book your free ticket, click here.

Venue: AFC Bournemouth, Vitality Stadium, Dean Court, Kings Park, Bournemouth, BH7 7AF.

Date: Monday 20 November.

Time: 6:30pm for a 7pm lecture start.

Refreshments will be provided at the event.

For more information about the event, please contact Matthew Fancy: mfancy@bournemouth.ac.uk.

NERC Council – membership vacancies

BU research, Research news

NERC is looking to appoint up to twelve new council members with relevance expertise and experience.  Applications are encouraged from suitably qualified people with a broad range of expertise and experience in research and innovation across higher education, industry and commerce, policy and/or civil society, reflecting different characteristics and professional backgrounds.

Further information and details of how to apply are available at: https://www.ukri.org/news/appointments-to-the-councils-of-uk-research-and-innovation/

The closing date for applications is 12:00pm mid-day on Monday 13 November 2017.

Interviews will be held in December 2017 / January 2018

AHRC report about arts and humanities research on mental health

Research communication, Research news

A new report, Exploring Mental Health and Wellbeing, published by the Arts and Humanities Research Council highlights the important role that arts and humanities based research can play in helping to address complex issues around mental health.

The report brings to life a wealth of case studies that are contributing to the mental health debate. These include examining the work of academics at the University of Cambridge who are pioneering an innovative design of a personalised fragrance dispenser to help manage anxiety to a project being managed by the University of Essex to educate policy-makers on the issues surrounding impaired decision-making capacity.

Research around mental health is focused around developing a cross-disciplinary approach – and arts and humanities scholars have a key role to play. The AHRC has funded research in many different aspects of mental health research in recent years, with an investment of over £10m in seventy-six projects since 2010.

The new cross-disciplinary mental health research agenda sees the UK’s seven research councils joining forces to collaborate on mental health research. Published in August this year, the agenda paves the way for cross-council collaboration on mental health, highlighting the importance of including the arts and humanities in this area of research.

Funder Visit – Japan Society for the Promotion of Science on 21st November 2017

Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, international, Research news, RKE development framework

BU’s Research & Knowledge Exchange Office is delighted to be hosting the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science visit on Tuesday, 21st November 2017.

The schedule for the event is:

13:00           Welcoming Address

13:05            JSPS – Overview, Institutional and Group Programmes

 Ms Chika Itoi, Deputy Director, JSPS London

13:25            JSPS Fellowship Programmes

 Ms Shiho Hayashida, International Programme Associate, JSPS London

13:45            Experiences of Doing Research in Japan

 Professor Chang Hong Liu (BU’s Department of Psychology)

13:55            Questions and Answers

14:00           Close

This event is open to BU academics and those from other regional universities. To book your place, please email RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk, putting JSPS in the subject line. The event will take place on BU’s Talbot Campus, with the room confirmed to you after booking.

Please also see the post concerning JSPS’ Fellowship scheme which is open until 1st December 2017.

 

Molecular basis for a healthier heart…new work published by BU

BU research, Research news

Research funded by the British Heart Foundation looking at tissue fibrosis (scarring), will soon be published in Experimental Gerontology, one the world’s leading journal on ageing. Fibrosis occurs naturally as part of our injury response process but also develops in ageing and chronic disease. Treatments are scant despite fibrosis leading to organ failure and increased risk of death.

The image shows valves (v) in the hearts of young and ‘late middle aged’ fruit flies that have been genetically engineered to express fluorescent collagen, an key ‘scar protein’. Although the fly heart is just two cells wide it represents a lot of the genetic machinery for a human heart. Amazingly, the function of human and fly hearts declines as they age – and they both accumulate collagen.

Our previous work linked heart function with SPARC – a protein associated with fibrosis in humans.  We’ve now demonstrated that the heart’s ‘health-span’ during ageing can be significantly lengthened if the expression SPARC is reduced. We also show that if SPARC levels increase – fibrosis is increased too. Hence, we’ve nailed a cause-and-effect relationship between SPARC and heart function which supports the idea of targeting SPARC clinically to control cardiac health and fibrosis.

Paul S. Hartley (Department of Life and Environmental Science).

SAIL Project Team Meeting

BU research, EU, Events, Knowledge Exchange, Research news, Uncategorized

Last week, Prof Ann Hemingway,  Prof Adele Ladkin  and Dr Holly Crossen-White joined European research colleagues in Ostend, Belgium for a SAIL Project bi-annual team meeting. Over two days  all research partners from four different European countries had the opportunity to share their initial research data from pilot projects being developed within each country for older people. The BU team will be undertaking the feasibility study for the SAIL project and will be drawing together all the learning from the various interventions created by the other partners.

 

 

New CMMPH midwifery publication

Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Sue Way and Prof. Vanora Hundley in BU’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) on their latest publication on the latent phase of labour.  Their paper ‘Defining the latent phase of labour: is it important?’ appeared in Evidence Based Midwifery and was written with midwifery colleagues across the UK, Germany and Canada [1].

 

Congratulations

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Reference:

  1. Hundley V, Way S, Cheyne H, Janssen P, Gross M, Spiby H (2017) Defining the latent phase of labour: is it important? Evidence Based Midwifery 15 (3): 89-94. 

 

New research shows that active gaming technology could help people with Multiple Sclerosis

BU research, Research communication, Research news

A new study published by Bournemouth University has shown that using the Nintendo Wii™ could help people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) become more active.  Being more physically activity has a range of potential benefits, including better balance and posture, improved confidence and improved mood.

The study saw 30 participants trial the use of Wii Fit Plus™, Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™ games at home, following initial orientation and guidance from physiotherapists in a hospital setting.  People recorded how often they used the Wii™, as well as responding to a number of questionnaires exploring its effects.  Dr Sarah Thomas, lead researcher, explains the rationale behind the project:

“Physical activity is known to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of people with MS, but they often face greater barriers to participation.  I’d noticed from my own family that playing the Wii appealed across the generations and was interested to see whether its ease of use and accessibility would make a difference to people with MS,” says Dr Thomas.

“Conversations with the Dorset MS team showed that they’d been thinking along the same lines, as they’d noticed that the Wii was increasingly being used by their patients.  That’s what led us to develop a successful grant application to the MS Society.”

As part of the Mii-vitaliSe study, people with MS were allocated  at random to one of two groups – one which trialled the Wii intervention immediately alongside their usual care for 12 months, and one which started the Wii intervention after a 6 month delay.

“The people we worked with were relatively physically inactive at the beginning of the study,” explains Dr Thomas, “Through regular 1-2-1 sessions with a physiotherapist, they were able to develop individual goals, which they then worked towards achieving using the Wii™ in their own homes.”

“We found that people were using the Wii™ on average about twice a week, most often for balance exercises, yoga or aerobics,” continues Dr Thomas, “Our participants found it a fun and convenient way to increase their physical activity levels, with people reporting benefits such as reduced stress, increased confidence and better balance, among others.”

“In day-to-day life, people noticed improvements such as dropping fewer pegs when hanging out washing, finding it easier to get in and out of the shower and walking further.”

We hope to build on these promising initial findings by carrying out a large multi-centre trial to test whether this intervention is effective.”

The full study can be read here.

A briefing paper about the research can be found here.